Your food section of March 4 was most enjoyable. However, a recipe on Page 8C caught my attention. This pasta dish contained an individual serving of 1,040 calories, of which 49 percent were fat calories (510 calories), and with 2,360 mg of sodium. No wonder obesity, high blood pressure and heart disease are epidemic in our children and adults. Please!

Allen H. Vean,Denver

The writer is a pediatric dentist.

This letter was published in the March 7 edition.

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Alicia Caldwell takes exception to the American Medical Association’s decision to label obesity as a disease. I see it, rather, as an attempt to get the public to see it as an American addiction, like alcohol abuse, as a terrible problem that, with its complications, probably kills more people than even the abuse of alcohol and all other drugs.

Many people have the attitude that those who eat too much (like those who drink excessively) should just say “no.” It’s not that easy. Our culture emphasizes overeating and drinking too much.

Until we face obesity as something we can deal with, with the help of doctors and others, we will continue to die from a variety of diseases related to our behavior.

Ron Vander Kooi, Arvada

This letter was published in the June 28 edition.

Alicia Caldwell wrote that “at some point individuals have to take charge of their own health destinies” and “at the end of the day it’s a battle won when common sense and self-discipline prevail.” The real problem: obesity is a mental disease, not physical. It’s the inability of people to think independently. Information on what causes obesity and the health problems associated with it have been common knowledge for more than three decades. We have raised/educated more than a generation of science-illiterate, economics-illiterate, and independent-thinking-illiterate citizens. The obesity epidemic is further proof of this failing.

Jim Leonard, Evergreen

This letter was published in the June 28 edition.

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Alicia Caldwell has hit the nail on the head. Obesity is not a disease; it is a byproduct of our failing society. We have failed our children by allowing lifestyles that do not promote movement. We have failed our people by allowing products in our groceries that barely qualify as food (read a few labels and you will see). On TV you see commercials for chips, not apples. Social media promote contact remotely, not physically. Food that is quick to prepare is usually devoid of nutrition yet high in carbohydrates and the “bad” fats. The options that we are providing our population all lead to obesity. If we were to change the views to the options, we would not have this problem to this extent.

William F. Hineser, Arvada

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A woman walks by a sign advertising sugary drinks in New York City on June 11. (Spencer Platt, Getty Images)

Re: “Obesity a disease,” June 19 news brief.

The American Medical Association has officially defined obesity as a disease. While pundits are making light of the classification, the fact remains that 30 percent of Americans are obese. In 2012, projections stated, “Adult obesity rates could exceed 60 percent in 13 states, and all states could have rates above 4 percent 4 percent by 2030.” According to the Centers for Disease Control, 365,000 deaths occur annually in the United States as a result of complications of obesity.

In 2012, medical costs associated with obesity were estimated at $190 billion per year. According to one study, cars are burning nearly a billion gallons of gasoline more annually than if passengers weighed what they did in 1960.

If we can get together as a country, we have a chance to check this epidemic, save hundreds of thousands of lives, and save billions of dollars.

Matthew A. Metz, M.D., Parker

This letter was published in the June 22 edition.

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Your article makes the point that most people don’t believe they are overweight when in reality they are. I’m not downplaying the need for controlling one’s diet and fitness; however, the use of the “body mass index” (BMI) as a guide to determining “overweightness” is a joke.

I am 6-foot-2 and weigh 220 pounds, played a lot of sports in my youth, work out regularly and am in much better shape than most people. According to the BMI calculator, I’m borderline obese.

Don’t believe me? The following Denver area athletes are overweight, too, according to the BMI calculator (a BMI of greater than 25 is overweight, and greater than 30 is obese).

* Champ Bailey, Broncos (BMI 26)

* Peyton Hillis, Broncos (30.8 — obese)

* Brandon Marshall, Broncos (28)

* Kyle Orton, Broncos (27.4)

* Ty Lawson, Nuggets (27.2)

* Nene, Nuggets (25.5)

* Kenyon Martin, Nuggets (25.7)

* Chris Stewart, Avalanche (29.3)

* Matt Hendricks, Avalanche (29.2)

* Matt Duchene, Avalanche (27.9)

These were calculated using each team’s official roster. Trust me — these guys are not fat (or obese).

Kirby Johnson, Thornton

This letter was published in the Nov. 4 edition. For information on how to send a letter to the editor, click here.

Guidelines: The Post welcomes letters up to 150 words on topics of general interest. Letters must include full name, home address, day and evening phone numbers, and may be edited for length, grammar and accuracy.